WOW Thursday 29th Jan

Hi Everyone,
Has been a quiet week for me sewing wise as DH wanted to make progress with our renovations.
Up until Saturday I could sew but that night was told pack up your machine, your sewing room is moving tomorrow while you are at work.
When I got home I was just in time to help as Steve had finished taking my table apart and it was ready to move. My table is purpose built, 3 student desk tops, an old kitchen cupboard and an old overhead china cupboard with sliding glass doors to my fat quarter collection, at the moment all suffering from sanding dust!!! But it is in place.
My DH is very clever though. At the moment there is NO power to this room!!!
This means I can clean up and help him with progress around the house before disappearing into my sewing room. There is such a thing as an extension cord but I will forget about that for the time being!!!

You can sort of see the configuration here.

Glass cupboard is under the long side and ALL is dusty!!

New cutting bench in front of the window, quilts and fabric with no current home, 

covered until I can get to them

What is left of my old sewing room

Cutting bench plus Scotch Chest with no home from our bedroom.

New wall being built across the room for our office and the good bit for me,

all that space on the left side is becoming storage cupboards.Yeah!!!

Start of our office or 4th bedroom.

Disappointed to find we can't fit a single bed as well with the size of our computer desk/chair

but plenty of room for a bookcase or two. 

Most of our books have been stacked under my sewing table for the last few years, leaving just enough room for my foot control. Lol.

The early shift into the computer room was because of this chair.

This is where our computer desk used to sit, in our YES also unfinished lounge.

Can't wait for our new carpet to get rid of the temporary fix for our extension.

The store next to my work is a baby store and this is one of their breast feeding chair's.!!!!

Returned by a customer as faulty, they had not followed the assembly instructions correctly 

I sat in one a few years ago and fell in love with it, far too late for me to need one but they are so comfortable. It swivels, rocks, reclines and it's foot stool adjusts to your position and rocks as well.

Repaired and for sale at under half price.

Rang Steve and asked him to come in and see what he thought of it - he looked and then he sat in it.!!!

Result - if you want it, buy it!!

Got home, the computer desk was moved out of the lounge and guess who is sitting in the chair most night's.

The baby store told me, if we get the husband in the chair - it's sold, worked for me!!!

To what quilting I did get done before having to unplug my machine. Am nearly half way with my baubles as have finished five plus the applique on the sixth. As I can't handstitch very well any longer I changed from Esther's pattern method of handstitching aound the padded bauble and will photograph my technique for my next blog post but here are my next 5 baubles. you can also see my background fabric's better in these photo's

Two Turtle Doves

We have very similar wild doves in Northland NZ but under a different name.

3 French Hens

This was fun but was several attempts to get fabric choices I was happy with.

4 Calling Birds, Esther's blog archive let me understand this one.

Five golden rings. Would love to do an embroidered spiderweb wheel top but I tried one for my poppies and it didn't look good and I had to take it off.

My Thumbs do not like handwork.

Six geese a laying. Not finished yet as this is when I had to pack up my machine.

Will show you how I am finishing my baubles with this one on my next blog.

Final Photo, six baubles on part of my tree background.

Now to link to Esther's Wow and then start organising my sewing room,

Enjoy your week everyone, Cheer's Jenny

Quilting with a House under Renovation.

Hi Everyone, This should be a WOW link to Esther, if I finish in time it will be but it is already Friday in NZ and time is running out. This was last week, I ran out of time !!!!
The last week has been DH doing the major renovation work as he has to start back at his other build next week and our place will take second place once again.
DH tells me I should be in my new sewing room by the end of next week. There will be no carpet on the floor but I need to move out of my now very dusty and cramped sewing room for his work to continue over the next week or so.

Window in and looking out. New sewing room faces NE so by early morning sun is streaming in and in summer it is going to be hot, have already mentioned I will need an awning for next summer.

My Current sewing room.

A new window added as this room will become our office, a passage to the new room and a 3m storage cupboard on the other wall.. Doorway in place to new room
Quilts with no where to live at present sit on my sewing table and I have to work around them

Looking back from the new room you can see what I have to work in at present

DH does cover everything while I am at work, thank goodness!!!

Around the house work continues as well.

Our new ensuite is finally gibbed and the window has been changed to double glazed etched glass.

From the exterior. Made to fit our brick cladding 

All bricks removed from the new spare room / ensuite front wall.

New spare room window and cladding in place.

From inside, this smaller room in now light and airy, private with the bottlebrush and tree in front

but full of more excess everything that we need to find a home for!!!!

Cladding also across the front with our smaller ranchslider which was the first to be in stalled

You can see the size of the trunk of the bottlebrush and how big a tree it would be if it had not been cut back many years ago. it is not the prettiest from the road, but it's new growth is perfect for privacy so I keep saying it stays. 

And finally to my sewing. Before work started on the house I managed to stitch the last poppies on to the background. They do pop off the fabric once they are stitched down.

This photo I still had the right side petals to stitch.
Because they are padded I stitch with them only pinned into place.
I could add bonding web to the back of my padding but I like the extra "puff" I get by not using it.

Now pinned over the current wallhanging in our lounge, one of the least dusty rooms!!!
 I need another couple of leaves on the right hand stems but this along with the final trimming and a
2 inch dark border have to wait until my sewing room is moved and I have space again.

In the meantime I have started Esther's 12 Days of Christmas wallhanging, I can just manage it on the space I have left on my sewing table. Have made six of the 12 foundation pieced blocks for the tree so far.

The true colour is deeper greens but it did not photograph well.

Still not sure the fabric with writing was the best choice but the more blocks I make the better it works,

it was also the only fabric I could find to make the other's work together.

This morning I made the first of the baubles - A Partridge in a pear tree

These baubles celebrating the song are going to be so much fun to make.

I  padded the bauble before doing my applique stitching as for me this gives a more 3D effect.

If you would like make this wall hanging the pattern is available for purchase from Esther's on line shop and she has all her blog posts about it on her blog site. They are great to read along with all the comments of those that made it along with her. 

I am no good at adding links so just go to the post links at the top of Esther's blog. 

I am either making another bauble now or adding the backing to this one.

Cheers's Jenny

Welcome 2015

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year to you all.
I hope you have all had a wonderful festive season with your family and friends.
As usual I worked over Christmas, with no children it seems only right to allow those that have children and grandchildren extra time to share with their dearest ones.
In the the days preceding and following Christmas I spent much time on the phone with my family and friends in Christchurch, catching up and sharing our news.
Xmas day we spent with friends, after my DH had spent the morning concreting the piles in for our new spare room- or more truthfully - my bigger sewing room!!!
Over the last week our room has taken shape.

Clad with building wrap you can still  just see my sewing room window.
Luckily our cycad garden doesn't have to be touched, when the room is finished this garden is already mature.

Looking into my sewing room from outside, bricks stripped and a window soon for removal.
New Years day I finished work at 2pm so we were able to clad the front of the room.
Steve needed someone to position the other end of our rustic timber boards while he nailed them up.

With a helping hand from our neighbours the new window is now in place, a few New Year's beers afterwards sealed the deal for the rest of the windows as well.
Double glazed, these windows are far beyond my strength to either move or lift.
For those of you who don't know, rusticated weatherboard is a cement board designed to look like timber, very popular in the 1980's 90's but not  popular today. Our house was built late 60's so we feel using this product is in keeping with the era and my DH doesn't have to become a blocklayer as well!!!
We have used it around the ranchslider at the front of the house and it will go across the rest of the front so we will end up being 50/50 bricks and weather board.
Today, which is a beautiful summer's day, Steve is cutting into the existing roof and completing the roofing.
The existing house has a hip roof but doing the extension as a gable is quicker and easier. It can't be seen from the front and as we put a gable roof on our new garage  the back area matches.

I did ask DH  for a very special present for Xmas, and I got it.
Esther's pattern for 12 Days of Christmas. I joined Esther's yahoo BOM group after this pattern was released but have always loved it - but I only remember it at Xmas - always too late to make it for the current year. Now I have a whole year to find the perfect fabric's and make it for next Xmas.
If you want to make it, it is available for purchase from Esther's Web Store.

This is a larger version of Esther's pattern that Glenda in Australia made.

More presents plus Candles. It is truly beautiful, 

Thank you for sharing this photo on your blog Glenda, I have saved it as my inspiration

Although my sewing room is very dark at present, thanks to the new room covering it's window, with the aid of electric light I have been able to continue working on the leaves for my Poppies wall hanging.

Pinned on the lounge wall with the flowers also only pinned in place .

My stems are straight, the bottom of the hanging is draping over the couch.

Not too many more leaves to add now but they have been a major for me

and progress has been slow.

Adrienne's pattern only had 5 stems and I have 8 in a very different placement.

Mirror imaging them, plus a mix and match approach is getting me there.

I meant to post this blog last week but ran out of time to link it to Esther's WOW so it has been sitting waiting for this week.

Cheer's everyone, Jenny